Cowboys leaders continue to downplay struggling offense

SAN DIEGO – Two trends continued for the Dallas Cowboys’ first-team offense in the 16-14 win over the San Diego Chargers on Saturday night.

The unit struggled and the quarterback, coach and owner downplayed it afterward.

A 9-yard pass from Tony Romo to Miles Austin on a back-shoulder fade gave the unit its first touchdown in three preseason games, but the play wasn’t a cure all.

With two outings left in the exhibition schedule, the offense will continue to be the focal point, although the team’s brain trust insists all is well.

“I understand why,” owner Jerry Jones said. “We’re working on things out there, but I do not at this time have a concern. You like to see it a little smoother, but it will get there.”

The TD was set up by an 80-yard fumble return by safety Barry Church, one of three takeaways for the defense. Without those turnovers, the Cowboys would have lost after Romo finished the first half with a horrific quarterback rating of 37.3.

His touchdown was offset by an interception, an ill-advised pass he threw under pressure.

But Romo wasn’t the only offensive player who had a bad night. There were drops by Jason Witten and Austin, who, with the exception of the touchdown pass, was never on the same page with Romo.

“As far as looking smooth, that’s from the perspective of you guys,” said Romo, referring to the media. “If 10 people do something right and one person does it wrong, that play’s doomed. Those are the things you can correct. It’s when you’ve got four people (making mistakes), you just can’t do it. That’s when you’re in trouble.”

Coach Wade Phillips attributed a lot of the offense’s problems to San Diego’s defensive game plan.

“They blitzed every time on third down,” Phillips said. “We haven’t seen all of their blitzes.”